Introduction

I CANNOT trace the origin of this book Because it has written itself
and it reflects the times in which I and my generation have grown.
It is a dream-world from which I have not emerged. Gandhiji
and his story are present all the time before my mind's eye. He
is moving among us and talking to us, as he did only a few years
ago. His death is but a small incident; he courted it and defied
it many a time. It is only the finale to a majestic symphony.
When I look back, the death of Tilak and the national mourning
come to my mind, with a vivid picture of Gandhiji leading the
people, the very next day, to heroic heights. The first of August,
1920, is fixed deeply in the subconscious, though it was just the
beginning of a great drama, developing almost without a flaw. I was
then only ten years old.
I was drawn into the whirlwind of revolution like the millions.
It- was a queer revolution,, defying the Government in the open,
in which the whole nation participated, pitting indomitable will
against brute force. The mind became at once free, and defied
starvation and death, and followed the great leader wherever he
wahted us to go. It was not merely hero-worship but consciousness
of strength, with which he imbued the people to break the shackles
of their enslaved minds.
Inhere were ups and downs in the nation's progress, but no stag-
nation. Gandhiji knew no defeat and inspired the people to march
along a path never trodden before.
The present work is a simple narration of the events through
which we have lived. It is a history of the last fifty years or so with
Gandhiji in the foreground. There is no attempt either at moraliza-
tion or dramatization of these exciting times. I have tried to tell
the story faithfully and, as far as possible, in the words of Gandhiji,